The NRL has opted not to enforce their controversial no-fault stand down policy in the case of Parramatta winger Maika Sivo.
The Sydney Morning Herald is reporting that NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg is expected to allow the Fijian to take his place for the Eels in round one despite a looming court date.
Sivo's case is due to be heard on the 12th of March in Fiji which is the same day as the Eels open their season against the Bulldogs.
The original plan from the NRL to wait for the court case to play out rather than enforce the no-fault policy hit a major snag when the case was adjourned from February 17 to March 12.
The NRL are allowed to use discretion in cases carrying a sentence less than 11 years under the no-fault policy and have done so here, just as they did in the case of West Tigers' Josh Reynolds.
Special treatment by the look of it.
I love a bit of discretion. Who needs consistency when you can have built in double standards.
Seems very similar if not exact same charge as Dylan walker was facing, so definitely seems a bit dodgy on nrl”s behalf
Its official, the no fault stand down policy is officially subjective, and has lost all credibility with NRL players. To its credit, it did last for 18 months, which is about the same length of time as your average NRL players memory span.
Todd “Greenlightforsome”burg
Dylan walker pushed his partner to the ground while she was holding a baby.
Sivo tugged on a waitresses skirt to get her attention.
Yep sounds like the same thing.
Typical idiotic comments from typical idiotic shegulls supporters.
Get a clue.
Don;t like this stand down rule, De Belin has pleaded not guilty so why is he two years out of the game, personally I reckon he is a rat bag for cheating on his pregant wife, he’s a low life, but doesn’t deserve to be out of the game this long especially if he is found not guilty, there has to be a better way.
Meathead Kev
So you were there and no all this hey???
They are the same charge you fool. Didn’t say the same crime.
But hey tell it like you want too make it suit yourself. I often lift girls dresses and try and drag them to me
ClownOfDivide how is it special treatment. Diferent countries have different laws. In Fiji the Parra player is in serious trouble but in Australia the same offence is minor.
Lets look at the ex Soufths Manly player Roberts. If he walked down the street in most Middle East countries hand in hand with his boyfriend. He would be punished with 50 lashes and if they were caught in bed together they would be punished with death.
But in Australia it is not an offence to 60% of the Aussie population.
If I was Parramatta I wouldn’t play him for the round 1 clash. Just for he’s mental state of things.
I’d bring in H Dunster to replace him.
bobfulton…. Call me bias if you like, but I honestly don’t think it is even the same charge as there are different laws in Aus to Fiji. What he did was not cool, don’t get me wrong, we have moved past those days, but grabbing a girls skirt is a far cry from what Walker did.
Unless more details come of other things he did, I honestly don’t think it warrants being stood down. Again, that may be Eels bias, but I think I have shown on here often enough that I try to stay fair on things involving all teams including the Eels.
If we want to talk about inconsistencies though, the David Fifita no punishment is the biggest crock of all.
At the end of the day none of this should be at the discretion of Greenberg. If the NRL was serious they would have a truly independent body reviewing all of these incidents and handing out the punishments.
That makes sense semi. Let him focus on what is important, footy comes second sometimes.
AdamWoodTroll..
It doesn’t matter where the offence took place . If you’re going to be consistent, all players facing charges should be stood down . Until the players found guilty , or not guilty.
I don’t believe Roberts was ever facing any charges anywhere, as you’ve put forward. So there’s no point to that gibberish. He also played before any of this stand down bias crap.
It seems some have been stood down & continue to be stood down. Without being found guilty as yet. Some have been stood down a year & once the case is resolved , still get extra fines & suspensions. Some walk away scott free & allowed to play , even before a verdict is reached.
As far as being inconsistent, this stand down trash is right up there with the on field refereeing. It’s exactly the same in fact. It all just seems to depend on ‘ who you play for ‘?
Greenberg and NRL have no credibility. They both should be investigated by their integrity unit. What a joke. Just make $h%t up as you go along greenberg
Double standards, just like when he was at the dogs!
Hey Kev………oh wow you were present at both incidents so you know exactly what happened lololol. Sounds to me like you’re the idiot!
eels47 you don’t touch mate simple
outsider, I agree with you, like I said we have moved past those days. I just think there are still varying degrees when it comes to these things, and what Sivo did was quite low on the severity list
Eels 47 very happy to have a conversation with you as your always good to be fair.
It depends what you believe, walker pulled his gf by the shoulder to get her attention
(Don’t get me wrong, don’t condone it) where Sivo grand a girl by a skirt who he doesn’t know in a sexual way.
Just saying walker was automatic 10 weeks and Sivo nothing. Don’t think it should matter in different countries as is sending same message.
Without a doubt though Fifita is a joke and shows money can buy freedom and silence.
bobfulton, agreed, the only information we have is what we are given by the media, who also have agendas at times. Based on what I remember from both cases I am pretty sure Walker was more than just a pull on the shoulder to get her attention, and I don’t recall Sivo grabbing her skirt in a sexual way, I thought that was an attention thing? I might be recalling incoreectly, but that is what I remember of them? Again, I am not saying either is right or OK, but there is a difference in the actions in my opinion.
The biggest problem is the discretion Greenberg apparently has. To come out and draw a line in the sand and say the no fault rule applies to those who may have jail time of at least 7 years, except that Greenberg can make a judgement call on others is ridiculous. Either have the rule or have an independent body adjudicate on all.
Sivo should be banned for life for making a complete fool of The BWSEagles fullback in 2019
😅
The way I see it, it shouldn’t matter where the incident took place, as an nrl player you have a standard to uphold, the players are aware of this. Let’s say Sivo did that here, he could be convicted of assault just like Scott Bolton was. The crime carries a possibility of a jail sentence and/or community service but it’s most likely the charge would result in a good behaviour bond. If we look at the games may missed for he’s crime it seems the standard has been set for anyone sent to community service.
The only way to reach some level of consistency is to stand down any player who has been charged with an offence until the matter has been dealt with by a court.
Once the courts’ decision has been made the integrity unit should then hand down the punishment in accordance with a set of pre-established guidelines. Serious offences, e.g. domestic violence or sexual assault should result in the player being removed from the NRL.
Fair enough toddy, take the location out of it, I am happy with that, as assault is assault, if that is what he gets convicted of. The difference between Bolton and Sivo, however, is that the NRL handed down their suspension after he had pleaded guilty to his charge. If Sivo is in fact found guilty of assault and the NRL subsequetly suspends him, that is fair.
Such an inconsistent rule, but consistent decisions by the NRL made based on the impact of their back pocket. I get this one, no Sivo at the new stadium for a team where Parras success will further enhance the game. I see what your doing 🙂
outsider.. I saw your comment in the trash section Let me clarify, I was in no way trying to play down assault when I said assault is assault. If anything I was doing the opposite. My point was, if he is found guilty of assault, as Bolton was in toddy’s example, then a suspension is fair as anyone guilty of assault, especially if it involves women or children, should be punished accordingly.
I think we can all agree the top dogs of the nrl are a joke. May and de belin put themselves in to bad situations, and unfortunately the governing body is run by incompetent humans, the nrl are very reactive this style of governing only shows weakness and an unprofessional organisation, the best kind of leaders are proactive as in you see where issues could occur you act before hand and set guidelines rules punishment etc
Oh and to the eels and panthers fans the trial match will be shown on win and fox
Eels47,
You’re Biased! You said call you bias , if we wanted to.
What country an offence occurred in, should have no bearing on the case. Or if a player is to be stood down or not. You have to abide by the laws of any country that you go to. If you break the laws of another country or have to face a court in another country . It should be the same as breaking laws here & having to face a court here. So the stand down rules should apply to all awaiting a court’s decision.
So AdamWoodTools, your comment is just rubbish.
The standing down of some players & even further action against one, after he’s served a year out & collected a fine. Compared to the inaction & letting others off . Shows yet again, what a flawed & ridiculous policy the stand down policy is in the NRL. It’s just a knee jerk reaction policy. One that again shows bias against some players & clubs.
How can any rule: , policy that changes according to the particular cases & players Involved be viewed as anything else?
EOD, a bit late to the party mate. I have already acknowledged in my comment to toddy that the location of the offence shouldn’t matter. As for the comment on the stand down rule, that is a whole other discussion. All I have said is that I don’t believe Sivo’s offence, based on what I know through reports, should warrant being stood down at this stage under the current rules. What you are suggesting isn’t the rule currently.
However, on that, it can’t be that simple. I’ll use the old Brett Stewart defence on this one. He was stood down and received a massive fine on the basis of a police charge. He went to court and got off and it came out that the father of the accuser was a known scammer. So someone attempts to take advantage of a player for money, and the player is subsequently charged without having done anything wrong. Why should they be stood down from playing? Unfortunately you can’t have a hard and fast rule on these sort of things. But, like I said, it should not be Greenberg making the decisions.
So someone could be taking advantage of de Belin? How would we know? How does your statement fit with his case? Yet he’s out for how long?
I was blocked twice . Once from writing almost the same thing above earlier. Then again from replying to you. So I wasn’t actually late in the first place.
Either a rule or policy applies to everyone. Or it’s flawed to begin with.
We don’t know, and yes they could be. Hence my comment that you can’t have a hard and fast rule on this. I’m not disagreeing with you that the system is flawed and open to bias/favouritism. To be honest I don’t know what the best way to deal with it is, but I think it should be an independent body looking after it.
The late to the party thing was a cheap dig mate, all in fun.
Hey Eels47…
Only a trial & different teams on in the second half. Still Parramatta is rated as a top four team & Penrith mostly as not in the 8. Good game.. Penrith forwards were never out gunned by Parramatta forwards , even with Parramatta at full strength.
Penrith played without Fisher-Harris, Kikau, Capewell & the two back up hookers including Kenny. Also no Edwards, Blore brothers etc.
Parramatta had all just about every second half penalty & lots of second sets of tackles , even when they weren’t actually deserving.
The biggest problem with Penrith is still out wide. Another faster centre & winger could help.
I still like Burton for 5/8th & Luai in the centres. May off the bench, when he is allowed to play.
The last try from any angle , there was a hand under the ball the whole time. He never grounded it. 👍😬